Alignment of optical components to waveguides, such as optical fibers, with high coupling efficiency continues to be a challenge in the photonics industry. To align the optical components actively, dedicated equipment is required which uses a sub-micron resolution multi-stage axis system with integrated cameras to align the components. Moreover, active monitoring of coupled light (i.e., active alignment) is often required. Not only is this equipment expensive, active alignment slows down the fabrication process and limits throughput.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments without specific recitation.